The clips on this page are provided for personal, non-commercial, educational and informational purposes only. They are rarely if ever shown on TV, and as far as I know aren't available for sale. They are copyrighted material and are hosted on my private website with no intention to infringe upon the respective copyright owners. My only intention is to honor and preserve the history and integrity of The Beatles.

Originally broadcast March 14th, 2003 this special edition features music from the lost Beatles tapes. These rare recordings were made during the filming of "Let it Be." They were stolen more than 30 years ago and remained missing until police recovered them in February 2003. "All Songs Considered" host Bob Boilen talks about these recordings with Bruce Spizer, author of "The Beatles on Apple Records." That interview and the original Beatles music were aired on National Public Radio. This is like gold to a true Beatle fan! It's presented here in it's entirety for educational/research purposes.

PREHISTORIC BEATLES

The Quarrymen

Here is 27 seconds of The Quarrymen:

The Beatles

Listen to Inspite of All The DangerThe earlist recording by The Beatles (1958), the only composition ever credited to McCartney/Harrison in pretty decent condition. You can easily pick out who's voices are who's. For a complete description with picturess, go
HERE

Lennon assassinated -- December 8, 1980

John Lennon is gunned down and killed outside his New York City apartment by M_rk Ch_pm_n, a deranged fan. Within hours, thousands of fans gather at the scene of the murder on the Upper West Side, prompting a spontaneous candlelight gathering and singalong in memory of the former Beatle.

This is John Lennon AND Paul McCartney singing Stand By Me TOGETHER in 1974! This was when John was drinking and hanging with Harry Nilsson. Not many people would believe this, let alone have actually heard it. Here it is:
STAND BY ME

George Harrison, solo acoustic version done in 1997 on VH1. Spur of the moment thing, most excellent!! All Things Must Pass

On Let It Be, the song One After 909 was supposed to be an attempt for The Beatles to return to their roots. I knew at the time that they said they wrote this song as teenagers and where recording it in the spirit of 'getting back', but I didn't know there was a 1962 recording of the song. Did you? This was recorded at the Cavern Club as a demo, so no screaming fans. Just a very early recording of One After 909, followed by I Saw Her Standing There, recorded the same day at the Cavern.

THESE ARE THE CHRISTMAS RECORDINGS THAT THE BEATLES RELEASED EACH YEAR TO THEIR FAN CLUB. THESE ARE VERY RARE, AND THE RECORDS THEMSELVES ARE VERY EXPENSIVE.

Presented here for research and educational purposes, with the full understanding that most fans will never otherwise have a chance to hear these recordings (without possibly spending thousands of dollars from a collector). I'll leave to the reader/listener to form their own opinions about the interaction of the group members year to year, leading up to the final year, 1969, where Yoko debuts on the last christmas message. (The year of Abbey Rd and the Beatles break up). These present a funny, intimate and (especially in hindsight) a very telling summation of each year in the life of the group. Keep in mind that Beatle albums were released at Christmas time (which is part of the magical feeling the albums hold for fans that got Beatle albums for Christmas).
Their rock contemporaries (The Rolling Stones, The Animals) looked down on the novelty of a Christmas Record, while their pop contemporaries (The Four Seasons, The Beach Boys) saw it as an opportunity to cash in, yet the Beatles themselves managed again, somehow, to have it both ways. The Beatles Christmas Records were sent to the Official Beatles Fan Club once a year between 1963 and 1969; not Christmas songs per se, they mostly consisted of just the lads themselves clowning around in the studio, creating Xmas (and other) improvised songs, and inserting the obligatory holiday wishes.
The format is mp3, please allow a little time for the download.